OUR EPI'S IN COMPETITION
Scout
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
born 4-28-95; first seizure 10-98; last seizure 1-9-99
agility, obedience and therapy work
120mg Pb BID, 400 mg KBr BID, 0.5 mg Soloxine BID
Scout recovered quickly physically and was soon
competing in agility again. If anything she was much more excited about showing
than previous. However, for obedience her recovery was much slower. I was not
trying to train new things, but it was probably about 6 months before the "light
came on" and I felt that she really understood what she already knew. As in the
past she likes the training much more than the actual competing. Before her
seizures she knew very little of the utility exercises and when taught those she
grasped the concepts quickly.
In 1999 she got three NADAC agility titles : OAC, OJC and OGC.
In 2000 she got her AKC CDX (obedience) her AKC OAJ (agility) and her TDI
(Therapy Dog International) - which allows us to go on visits to rest homes.
In 2001 she got 2 NADAC titles EJC, EAC and 1 AKC Utility leg.
Now I wouldn't call us competitive by any means, but she is challenged both
mentally and physically and we BOTH have fun. When I returned to competitive
agility I was amazed at the number of dogs with seizures (some on meds, some
not) who were competing. Seizures are much more common than I realized. It is
just that some people are more open about the fact that their dog has them.
A behavioral change for Scout either due to the seizures or her meds was from
aloofness to "I just want to Hi - anyone can pet me" type dog. This has worked
out great for her therapy visits - she loves to be petted and give out kisses.
Also, TDI accepts titers as proof of vaccination.